1. is there enough information for you to evaluate

You must have enough information about any program to evaluate it thoroughly.

Don’t be taken in by clever marketing that sounds like content detail when in effect it’s mostly fluff and empty promises of overnight success.

The best way to evaluate a course is to experience it for real. A risk free trial is an ideal way to get a good idea of how everything works so you can decide if it’s going to be suitable or not.

Some programs offer a trial for a dollar and give you a number of days to check everything out. This is a great option but be aware that most will upgrade you to the full subscription price after 7 or 14 days.

If it’s not the program for you, make sure you cancel in time and get written confirmation of this.

If no trial option is available then the program owners need to cover everything in detail on their promotion page, including a full breakdown of the contents, plus useful screenshots and sampler videos.

Also, check to see that they offer a way for you to contact them before making a purchase. This way, if their promotional material does not cover everything you need to know, you’ll be able to email them for answers to your questions.

Any program that does nor offer either of the above should be eliminated from your list, since it’s more than likely it won’t cut the grade and could very well be a scam.

I would also resist the temptation to purchase a program based on the assurances that if you’re unhappy they will give you a full refund within a certain number of days.

Once you’ve handed over your hard-earned cash it’s often more challenging to get it back again. The refund feature is important but only after you’ve decided that the program is the best one for your needs.

2. Does the Training Cater for Your Learning Style?

Like many people, it’s likely you have a mix of learning styles but it’s also possible that you may favor one of these over the others.

It’s important to know how you learn best so you can choose a course suited for you, which means you’ll get the most out of the training.

For instance, if you like learning by watching videos and the course is delivered via print emails then it would not be suitable for you.

There are seven common learning styles which are grouped according to the ways in which people learn.

Visual: You prefer learning via pictures and images.

Auditory: You prefer learning via sound and music.

Verbal: You prefer learning via words, both in speech and writing.

Physical: You prefer learning via using your body, hands and sense of touch.

Logical: You prefer learning via using logic, reasoning and systems.

Social: You prefer learning in groups or with other people.

Independent: You prefer learning alone, using self-study.

Obviously no course will provide for all the above styles and not all styles are appropriate for the nature of the content either.

You probably already have an idea of how you best learn which will be enough to help you assess if the course you’re evaluating is suitable.

3. Does the Training Fit Your Financial Budget?

Price matters to most people. There’s no point evaluating a course further if you’re not able to afford it. You want to find the best possible training you can afford. Prices can vary from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Consider the following questions to determine what’s best for you.

Is it a one time payment, or a monthly subscription?

If it’s a one time payment, do they also offer a payment plan and is there difference in cost between the two?

If it’s a monthly subscription, can you afford the payments for the full time it will take to complete the course?

Does the quoted cost cover everything you need or are they going to charge you for subsequent more advanced modules? If so, would you be able to afford these today? Do not make the mistake of believing you will make sufficient money with the first modules to cover the cost of later ones. There is no guarantee this will happen.

Do they offer a no questions asked refund if you’re not happy with the course? Make sure there are no vague or subjective conditions that might make getting a refund challenging.

It’s also not a good idea to get into debt to pay for any product. Find the best training you can afford without going into debt you can’t service.

4. Is the Training up to Date?

Affiliate marketing and the Internet has been around for more than a few years. Things can change very quickly online. What may have worked a year or more ago might not work now.

How can you be sure that what you are getting is not outdated information? It’s best to look for clues that point to currency. The following can help you determine this.

Do they state that the training is up to date, continually evolving or current? This does not necessarily mean it is as the words could have been written years ago. It does however make for a good starting point after which you can continue looking for more evidence.

Do they offer weekly regular training webinars where the latest trends, tips and ideas are shared? You want to make sure these are currently offered live and not old recordings of webinars from the past.

Read reviews and take note of the dates the reviews were written. If you can only find reviews written more than a few years ago, I would give it a miss.

Search for the program name and the word ‘launch’ in Google to see if there are articles or press releases about when the program was first released.

Look for dates on their websites. Usually these are noted at the bottom of sites.

5. Does the training consist of theory & PRACTICE?

There must be sufficient theory followed by suitable practical activities.

Answering questions and completing practical tasks will help to test and confirm your understanding

Ideally once you’ve completed a training module there should be tasks that get you to apply what you’ve learned on your own blog.

6. Is the training organized and logically set out?

You want comprehensive step by step training in digestible chunks that guide you through the content sequentially and logically.

There’s nothing worse than training that does flow logically or worse training that leaves important steps out. This is especially important if you’re a beginner.

7. Is the training flexible?

Is the training self paced so that it can fit into your life at a time that suits you?

If the training includes live training webinars, are these recorded so that you can watch them when you need them?

Are you able to work as slow or fast as you choose?

Are there completion time constraints or can you take as long as you choose to complete the course?

8. Can you find success stories online?

Don’t just accept a few flaky testimonials published on the sales page.

Search the Internet to see how many success stories you can find. It’s useful to read reviews in this regard.

Don’t look for 100% positive reviews, rather read as many as you can and look for common points, always considering what’s most important to you.

9. Are you getting value for money?

What do you get for your money in comparison with other programs?

Make sure that what you’re getting is true value and not just a lot of useless bonuses that you don’t need.

Very often it will sound as if you’re getting value when course creators offer you bonuses like transcriptions and sound file versions of videos but do you really need those?

True value is only something you will use, not something you will file away and forget about.

10. Can you get help if you need it?

Is there a way to ask questions and get help or coaching while you’re learning?

Ideally you want to be able to get help quickly and when you need it. This may be provided in the way of a dedicated support team although most of these only operate during business hours.

Look for community support in the way of Facebook groups etc.

10. Are you sure it’s not a scam?

Is it possible to contact the owners?

Has anybody complained that it’s a scam?

Use a scam checker website like www.scamadviser.com.

the best affiliate marketing training course is the one best for you

Choosing the best affiliate marketing training course may feel like a challenging job but it’s really not as hard as it seems.

The key is to use set criteria to guide you through your evaluation of what’s available.

What do you think? What else can you add to this post?

Got Questions? Something to say? Leave a comment. Let’s chat

My #1 recommendation

If you want to start a blogging business to change the direction of your current income.

14 Comments

Glenys
on May 4, 2018 at 3:10 am

I totally agree with you Mark. In order to be successful in online marketing you must get your hands on the best affiliate marketing training possible. This is because all things on the internet move so quickly you need to know what is working well TODAY.

Unfortunately you often won’t find out if something is good or bad until AFTER you have handed over your hard earned money. I agree with another point you made that different people have different learning styles, so even if the content is A+ if the person’s learning style doesn’t match with the content delivery, they might miss lots of valuable information.

Another tip I would add is “can you ask questions and receive answers”. We all get stuck on “just that one little thing”. Sometimes we all need a nudge in order to move forward. Thanks for the tips.

As you say, it can be quite tricky, making sure that the training you’re getting is up to date. I think it’s important that people are aware that just because it’s on the Internet and they are presented with the sales page, does not mean that you going to get the latest information.

You have to make an effort to find out whether it is current or at least asked the question so that you know you’re certain about what you’re getting. In the past I’ve purchased training which didn’t teach me anything new so it was a waste of money.

Thanks too for adding the tip about how important it is to be able to ask questions and get answers. There’s nothing worse than not being able to move forward because you’re stuck.

Nice blog on Affiliate marketing Mark, very informative, has video, and pics, you offer a recommended solution, and one of the nicer laid out formats I’ve seen. Training is essential, especially when just starting out. As you know all the info can be overwhelming for a rookie. So your recommendation was on point regarding a real good learning program.

Qppreciate your comment and the feedback, thank you. Finding the best training you can afford is definitely the first step. The second of course, is to complete the training and to implement what you learn.

As you say it can be quite overwhelming so it’s important to have training you can trust and support you can rely on.

Learning how to do most things requires process, taking time and effort. You have to start somewhere and the smartest place to start is with great training.

Once you have the the right training it’s as if you have the right map to treasure but you do have to dig (do the work) until you get there. As you do this so you learn from others eventually getting to where you want to be.

I love the information. It is very informative and helpful. I love the list you made on how to choose the best affiliate training course. There are so many programs available online, choosing the right one that fits your budget seem like a hard task. You have provided very good information here that breaks it down on how to find the bet training course. Very nice blog.

Great to have you visit and leave a comment. I’m pleased that you found the information helpful. A lot of people just choose training based on what they read on a sales page, but this can lead to problems since often you don’t really have an idea of what you’re getting for your money. Following a list of criteria like the one I do is very helpful since it helps you to think about the most important things to do with training.

Mark, a concise and well presented lot of information on finding the best training course for this niche.

The one thing that is very important to me is the current status of the training. Even in the best courses I find old training that might be relevant but only with some substantial guesswork. And that is not really what one wants when finding a teaching source.

Thank you for stopping by and for leaving a comment. I guess that is one of the challenges with training. How do you know that what is being presented is up to date and worth implementing until it’s too late?

As an example I saw some training on ‘backlinking’ recently that someone had purchased which was clearly no longer current but the poor person had no idea until I pointed this out.

All the more reason to read reviews and check up on the date the training was released.

If you’ve been looking for extra money, affiliate marketing is the way to go.

You can stick with one merchant or go with as many as you need for your business. Affiliate marketing on the internet is truly becoming more and more popular – making now the time for you to get your foot in the door.

And for training, I prefer Wealthy Affiliate, because they have all you need to become successful affiliate marketer!

Affiliate marketing is very flexible just as you describe. I also agree with you that Wealthy Affiliate is the training program of choice. It offers up to date, comprehensive training at the best price for what you get simply because of all the added bonuses like free websites, hosting, writing platform etc.